Dispensing rack for hair wave rods



Sept. 15, 1959 JOHNSON ETAL 2,904,187

DISPENSING RACK FOR HAIR WAVE RODS Filed July 14, 1958 INVENTORS 5085 v cZ'LE/wso/v KENNETH M Jbmvsa/v Unit Bobby J. Johnson and Kenneth M. Johnson, Long Beach, Calif.

Application July 14, 1958, Serial No. 748,511

'6 Claims. (Cl. 211-49) This invention relates genmally to dispensing racks in which hair wave rods are gravity fed to the hand of the operator, and more par'ticularly, it relates i to such-a rack in which the feeding magazines are adjustable in opening to accommodate a variety of rod sizes.

In the permanent Waving of womens hair, a lotion is applied to the hair and strands of it are then 'c'urled and "shaped on small wave-retainer devices which will be referred to herein as hair 'Wave rods, regardless of their shape, or the method of waving or curling in which they maybe used. At the present time, the great'major ity of hair wave rods are in the shape of plastic rods between one and five inches long which are flared or somehow enlarged at each 'end (in order to retain the hair in place) and which are provided With an elastic band for holding a strand of hair in place on the rod once it has been properly placed by the hairdresser, or beauty operator. The most extensive use of such rods isin the dressing *of 'womens hair in waves by means of a cold wave process of some type, 'as practiced in a beauty shop or hairdressing salon. However, it will be appreciated that the present invention may be utilized in both commercial shops and 'at home, although especially designed for the former; and the utility of the invention is not dependent upon the particnlartypc of waving method used.

The principal basis for'the charge for Wav'ingor setting a womans hair is the time of the operator, and inciden'tztll-y, the time during which the use of 'the equipment is required. A major part "of the time of the 'beauty operator is used in selecting a hair 'wa-v'e rod of the proper size for a particular strand "of hair, andplacing it in position. Although each such operation is only a few seconds long, it is repeated so many timeseach hour that important savings can be effected by making it easier to perform and reducing the "time required for it.

*At the present time, hair WWG rods are presented to the beauty operator in a tr-ayc'ontaining different lengths and shapes. and the operator must sort throug'h t hem 'to' find 'a rod (if the proper size, and'even in t hos'e'eases in which the rods have "been sorted, "mixture sometimes occurs during handling. Moreover, the operator must-turn to the tr-a-y and select a rod from it rather-carefully "since each rod has an elastic cord-like fastening member, and these tend 'to become entangled with 'one "another.

it is an important object of the present invention to provide dispensing ra'ck which will present the rods, sorted as -to size, in a manor in when easily picked up individually. I

aAiterthe rods have "been used, they must be ithorouglil-y washed and dried prior -to their use on the next customer. Either before '01 after the Washing stage, the rods, which are received after use in a random mixture, must once against be sorted-according to size. flit' the'present :time, the rods are sometimes sorted to size two or three times between-removal fr'o'm the hair df one *customer and use onthe hair df1the next. 'ilhey rare'sometimes sorted for -washing, =then "resorted .afor ldrying and for the operator.

they may be Sores Pater Often the .rods are mixed up in the tray lilo iii? It is an object of the present invention to provide a rack into which curlers of different sizes may be sorted, and which may be moved throughout the washing and drying process, if desired.

It is important that the dispensing rack be readily cleaned at frequent intervals, in order that it may contribute to the clean and odor-free environment which should characterize a well-managed hairdressing booth. It is an important object of the present invention to provide a dispensing rack which can be partly dismantled for washing and sterilizing.

It is conceivable that a dispensing rack might be used which would have various types of feed mechanisms for presenting the hair Wave rods to the hand of the operator. However, the present invention employs a gravity feed as the simplest and most practical feeding means.

It 'is also conceivable that a rack might be designed with a magazine constructed to receive 'a particular hair trod size, many magazines being required for the many sizes available, and subject to obsolesence in case of the introduction of new sizes to replace older ones. it is an important object of the present invention to provide adjustable size magazines which will accommodate almost -any known or imaginable shape or size of hair wave rod.

The foregoing and other objects are accomplished by means 'of a multiple magazine rack supported in oblique jplane several inches above 'a work surface, which may be any worktable or counter used in the hairdressing booth. The general principles'o'f the invention may beu-nderstood from the specific embodiment illustrated in the accompanying-drawings and described hereinafter.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective v'iewof ad'ispensingrack constructed according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional View through the rack, taken at a front to back vertical plane about midway between the right and left sides of the rack;

Figure "3 is a perspective View of a front right hand -'corner-detai-l of the frame construction of the rack;

Figure l- =is 'a vertical sectional view of a fragmentary part of the front panel of the rack, taken at -'a vertical front to back plane;

Figure 5 is a View of the frontpanel of the rack as "seen in the direction of the arrow '5 inFigure 4; and

Figure 6 is a perspective view "of a pair of gripping members, which are the preferred form for the rodholding magazines in the rack.

In Figure 1, a dispensing rack indicated generally by the numeral Itll'lS seen to be comprised principally of an obliquely disposed frame structure 11, a housing 1 2 nttingover framestructure l1,four supporting legs 1 3, 14, 15 and 1 6, and a plurality of rod-holding magazines, only the extreme right side magazine 17 being visible in' Figure 1.

The principal purpose of the rack 10 is to present for convenient manual removal an assortment of sizes of hair wave rods. One such rod 20 is illustrated for purposes of describing the operation of the invention, but it will be understood that the rods themselves are well known in the prior art and do not comprise any P2111701 the present invention. Typically, the rod is 'a tube with flared end portions. An elastic .cord ZZis attached to one end of the rod 20 'and is provided with a fastening button '23 which may be inserted into the opposite end of the rod, thereby-holding the rod in place after a strand of hair has been wound upon it. The overall length of the rod 20a11d the cord 22 :for the longest of 'the rods 20 determines the preferred height for the rack 10. Preferably, .the 'rack should support the rods '20 so that at their lowest point in the magazine 17, the button 23 is held free and clear of the work surface as illustrated in the sectional view of Figure 2.

In the preferred embodiment illustrated, the frame structure 11 is simply constructed of front and back panels 25 and 26, respectively, and side members 27, which may be no more than the connecting extension of the front and back legs. Thus, the detail perspective view of Figure 3 reveals the side member 27 as integrally formed from the same steel rod which forms front leg 14and, as seen in Figures 1 and 2, the same rod continues down the back of the rack 10 to form a back leg, for example, back leg 16.

The front and back panels 25 and 26 are preferably formed with end channels as indicated at 28 and 29 in Figure 3, and a mating bracket 30 is employed with a screw 31 to rigidly assemble the panel, for example panel 25 in Figure 3, to the side member 27.

Preferably, the front legs 13 and 14 have a recessed profile, as seen in the case of leg 13 in Figure 2, so that an operators hand moving from the side has easy access to the rods 20 hanging down from the rod magazines 17.

Spaced from the right to the left of frame 11 are a series of parallel rod magazines, for example right side magazine 17, comprised of a pair of relatively adjustable gripping members 17a and 17b, illustrated in enlarged detail in Figure 6. Figure reveals the front appearance of these magazines as seen in the direction of the arrow 5 in Figure 4, three magazines, 17, 18 and 19 being seen in front end view.

As seen in Figure 6, the gripping members 17a and 17b may be formed of stainless steel rod, and may be considered as comprised of a gripping section 32, a pair of arms 33 and 34, one at each end of the gripping section 32, and front and back pivots 35 and 36, which are no more than the bent ends of the rod of which 17a is formed.

The pivots 35 and 36 are received in pivot bores 37 in the front and back panels as illustrated in Figures 4 and 5. Preferably, the gripping member 17 is formed so as to spring into position between the front and back panels 25 and 26. Also, it is preferred that the pivot location 42 for left and right gripping members of a particular magazine, magazine 19, for example, be spaced from each other sufiiciently to allow reception in the panel, for example panel 25, of a holding screw 43. A nut 44 on the end of the holding screw 43 (see Figure 4) presses a washer 45 against the arms 33 of the gripping member 17 so as to frictionally resist their radial movement. However, it will be understood that the holding screw 43 may be loosened to permit adjustment of the holding members 17, 18 or 19, or it may be tightened just sufficiently to permit adjustment of the gripping members under manual pressure. the spacial disposition of two adjacent gripping members, 17a and 17b, for example, may be changed at will to accommodate any particular size of hair wave rod 20. Also, it will be noted that the oblique angle at which the frame 11 is disposed is sufficiently great to cause a row of the rods 20 to descend along the smooth surface of the gripping section 32 under the influence of gravity.

At the lower end of each of the magazines 17, etc., a resilient leaf spring retaining finger 46 is provided to block exit of the lowermost hair wave rod from the magazine. The leaf spring 46 is of sufficient strength to support an entire row of hair wave rods in the magazine, but is sufficiently yielding so that one rod may be manually removed from the lower end of the magazine. The spring 46 Will then immediately snap back into position against the upper end of the next succeeding hair wave rod.

It will also be noted that the gripping sections 32 and the holding end of the spring retainer 46 extend well below the lower edge of the front panel 25, so as to pro.- vide free clearance for the removal of hair wave rods It will be seen that 20. Similarly, such clearance is provided at the upper end of the magazines, below the back panel 26, as seen in Figure 2, so as to permit easy insertion of hair wave rods into the magazines.

Both appearance and structural rigidity of the rack 10 are greatly improved by means of a cover member or housing 12 which fits over the frame structure 11 and is recessed, in its central section, with a recessed tray 50 which fits into the frame 11 and the space between the arms 33 and 34 of the gripping members of the magazines 17, 18 and 19, while leaving sufiicicnt clearance for the upper ends of the hair wave rods 20. The recess 50 is preferably surrounded by side and end walls 51, 52 and 53, and is provided with a ridged bottom 54 so that lotion bottles, for example bottle 55, may be held in a convenient location for the operator, without inclination to roll about in the tray 50 or to fall out of it. The peripheral flange 56 of the housing or cover 12 preferably provides full cover to the magazines 17, 18 and 19, etc., and protects the hair wave rods stored therein from spattering with lotion or the deposition of particles of dust or hair which may fall during the hairdressing operation.

While there have been shown and described and pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a preferred specific embodiment, it will be understood that various omissions, substitutions, and changes in form and detail of the embodiment illustrated, may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is, therefore, our intention, not to be limited by the foregoing illustrative embodiment, but only by the scope of the following claims.

We claim:

1. A dispensing rack which includes: a magazine supporting frame including a front panel and a back panel, said front panel being at a substantially lower elevation than said back panel, and supporting legs; at least one dispensing magazine extending obliquely upward from said front panel to said back panel, said magazine consisting of a pair of parallel gripping members pivoted in said front and back panels for supporting gripping surfaces parallel to the axis of said pivots but below said pivots, said surfaces being spacially adjustable from one another; and a resilient leaf spring retaining member at the lower end of said magazine to block exit therefrom until overcome by manual operation.

2. A dispensing rack for hair wave rods of assorted sizes, which rack includes: a magazine-supporting frame disposed in an oblique plane, and including a front panel and a back panel, said front panel being at a substantially lower elevation than said back panel; front and back supporting 'legs for said frame; a plurality of hair wave rod magazines extending obliquely upward from said front panel to said back panel, each of said magazines consisting of a pair of parallel gripping members, said members being spacially adjustable from one another; a resilient leaf spring retaining finger extending below said front panel at the lower end of the gripping rods of each of said magazines; and a housing received over said magazine supporting frame.

3. A dispensing rack for hair wave rods of assorted sizes, which rack includes: a magazine-supporting frame disposed in an oblique plane, and including a front panel and a back panel, said front panel being at a substantially lower elevation than said back panel; front and back supporting legs for said frame; a plurality of hair wave rod magazines extending obliquely upward from said front panel to said back panel, each of said magazines consisting of a pair of parallel gripping members, said members being spacially adjustable from one another; a resilient leaf spring retaining finger extending below said front panel at the lower end of the gripping rods of each of said magazines; screw means attaching said spring fingers to said front panel and adjustable to tighten said gripping members against relative movement, and a housing received over said magazine supporting frame.

4. A dispensing rack for hair wave rods of assorted sizes, which rack includes: a magazine-supporting frame disposed in an oblique plane, and including a front panel and a back panel, said front panel being at a substantially lower elevation than said back panel; legs for supporting said frame, at suificient height to permit hair wave rods to hang freely from beneath said frame; a plurality of hair wave rod magazines extending obliquely upward from said front panel to said back panel, each of said magazines comprising gripping members, spacially adjust able from one another to grip hair wave rods of different sizes; a yielding retaining means extending below said front panel at the lower end of said magazines to hold hair wave rods therein until manually withdrawn; and a housing received over said magazine supporting frame and including a central section recessed into said frame above said gripping rods of said magazines.

5. A dispensing rack for hair wave rods of assorted sizes, which rack includes: a magazine-supporting frame disposed in an oblique plane, and including a front panel and a back panel, said front panel being at a substantially lower elevation than said back panel; front and back supporting legs for said frame; a plurality of hair wave rod magazines extending obliquely upward from said front panel to said back panel, each of said magazines consisting of a pair of parallel gripping members, and front and back arms pivoted in said front and back panels for supporting each of said members parallel to the plane of said frame but below said frame, said members being spacially adjustable from one another about the pivot points of said arms in said front and back panels; a resilient leaf spring retaining finger extending below said front panel at the lower end of the gripping members of each of said magazines; and a housing snugly received over said magazine supporting frame and including a central section recessed into said frame above said gripping rods of said magazines.

6. A dispensing rack for hair wave rods of assorted sizes, which rack includes: a magazine-supporting frame disposed in an oblique plane, and including a front panel and a back panel, said front panel being at a substantially lower elevation than said back panel; front and back sup porting legs for said frame, said front supporting legs being recessed in front to provide ready hand access to the space below said front panel; a plurality of hair wave rod magazines extending obliquely upward from said front panel to said back panel, each of said magazines consisting of a pair of parallel gripping members, and front and back arms pivoted in said front and back panels for supporting eaoh of said members parallel to the plane of said frame but below said frame, said members being spacially adjustable from one another about the pivot points of said arms in said front and back panels; screw means for adjustably tightening said arms against rotation about said pivot point; a resilient leaf spring retaining finger extending below said front panel at the lower end of the gripping members of each of said magazines; and a housing snugly received over said magazine supporting frame and including a central section recessed into said frame above said gripping rods of said magazines.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 434,819 Beckman Aug. 19, 1890 549,807 Mayer Nov. 12, 1895 FOREIGN PATENTS 518,305 Great Britain of 1940 

